Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 06/09/2005 | 148000 | 200 | 04/18/1996 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 1996 saturn sl2. the contact stated that the vehicle hesitated intermittently and was taken to the dealer. the dealer discovered that the spark plugs were set at different specifications, which was the cause of failure. the speed was unknown. the current mileage was 175,000 and failure mileage was 148,000. | |||
| Consumer states that while car was running the engine caught on fire, fire started under the hood. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - RADIATOR ASSEMBLY | |||
| 02/01/2004 | 1 | 02/28/2004 | |
| If you would take a look at the driver side of the radiator. would you believe it's plastic? where this plastic is molded together there is a crease and in every person i have spoke with who has one it split open right down the crease in which causes water and coolant to leak sometimes spray out. this is a defect on the manufactures part and should be redesigned and replaced free of charge, instead they are over looking these problems and saying it's after warranty. saturn should stand behind the making of their vehicles and admit their mistakes, better yet correct them. this is not the only problem i have found to be wrong with these cars it's just the only one that's a design flaw and only saturn can make right. several others i know have gotten new radiators and replaced them and still they break open same place. the temp gauge doesn't show the vehicle running hot and says in the manual that the gauge will default and return to the middle position now you tell me what good that does for telling if your car is running hot. come on saturn do something about your mistakes!!!!!!!! *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 05/27/2005 | 11700 | 1 | 04/03/2005 |
| There was a clicking sound in the engine; when i tried to press the gas it just revved the engine but had a hard time getting up to speed; i was driving home with my two daughters; going about 30 mph and i heard a loud noise and then stuff falling under my car....the car died. i pushed the car about a block and half to my house. my children and i then went to pick up the pieces of the engine...one of the pistons had blown out of the block. there was a huge whole on the lower right of the engine. i had several mechanics come look at it and they said it was a freak accident. there was still oil in the engine so i had not ran it out of oil. the noise just started and immediately the engine was bad. i bought it with 113000 miles on it and had it only a 6-8 weeks when this happened. i had 117000 mile on it when it broke down. | |||
| 08/05/1999 | 70000 | 0 | 09/30/1995 |
| I purchased my saturn sl2 new in 1996. after 70,000 miles it started using an inordinate amount of oil. oil consumption started to eclipse 1 qt. for every 500 miles. my oil change service said saturn engines were notorious for bad rings. i took to saturn dealership. they wanted several thousand dollars for a new engine. i replaced engine with a saturn engine with 23,000 miles. after another 40,000 miles the replacement engine exhibited the exact same behavior. i now need to purchase a third engine. | |||
| 06/10/1999 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle lunges when put in reverse and gears aren't shifting correctly, dealer replaced valve body. *slc | |||
| 11/21/1996 | 5 | 06/17/1996 | |
| While driving at speed of 55mph, the engine light came on and the vehicle decreased its speed down to 10mph, then increased its speed back to 55mph. cause unknown. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 06/05/2002 | 20 | 12/01/2095 | |
| I bought my car in 1996 brand new from stamford saturn car dealer. during the first year, i experienced that my car is using one quart of oil per month. i reported to my car dealer that my car is using 1 quart of oil every month, they recommended that i bring the car to them for oil consumption study for six month. i did not bring my car to the dealer at that time. after six years, my car was using 3 quarts of oil within ten days. i called saturn representative and the local saturn car dealer for help. they recommended that i authorize the dealer to do tear down of the engine. i authorized the dealer to the tear down of the engine; after the tear down dealer recommended that, i either have the car repaired for $3000.00 or replace the engine for $4300.00. i decided to have the engine replaced with new engine. the saturn representative would not admit that my car has manufacturer defect, i explained to them this is not normal for a new car to use up 3 quarts of oil in ten days. in the beginning, the saturn representative agreed if the car had oil consumption or manufacturer defect they would help with the repair cost. however, after the repair they are not helping me with the repair cost. please try to understand i have family wife and two year old son, my wife cannot work full time because she has to take care of our son. to pay $4300.00 is too much for me to handle, please help. i paid the dealer with my american express card.*ak | |||
| 03/25/2001 | 1 | ||
| The vehicle was in tow when it caught fire in the engine compartment, the entire vehicle became engulfed, there were no injuries (ohio traffic crash report). nlm | |||
| 1 | 04/22/1996 | ||
| While driving engine stalled without warning. there was no leak or evidence of burning oil.*ak the consumer found out that the vehicle stall because there was no oil in the engine. it was just 3000 miles since last oil change. *yh | |||
| 02/04/1996 | 11/10/1995 | ||
| Engine malfunction not corrected despite being serviced 7 times and replacing: spark plugs and wires, fuel injectors, and valves. front driver's window exploded because of malfunctioning electronic switch--caused injury to driver. owners wish to have money back or replacement. | |||
| 10/10/1998 | 1 | 04/01/1996 | |
| /22/99 - after no response from don hudler, posted this email to the saturn website | |||
| 01/03/1999 | 1 | 11/01/1995 | |
| I really feel that a car that is well taken care of and have only 47000 miles shouldn't have need a new engine in it. | |||
| 01/15/1998 | 4 | 09/23/1995 | |
| Engine seized without warning shortly after maintenance. | |||
| 09/13/1997 | 5 | ||
| While driving on regular road, lights came on dashboard, engine cut off, vehicle swerved to right, crashed into cement sewage drain, tire rims popped, vehicle came to stop. with dealership for inspection. *ak | |||
| 04/09/1996 | |||
| When driving along service engine light will come on, put foot on gas and vehicle stalls and starts vibrating. has taken in for repairs seven times. they have replaced jiist about every part and still they don't know what the problem is. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 06/10/1999 | 1 | ||
| Squealing noise from engine area in rainy weather, dealer replaced the engine drive belt due to it being dry and cracked. *slc | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM | |||
| 1 | |||
| Muffler and pipes rusted and several other parts have failed.*et | |||
| 11/21/1996 | 5 | 06/17/1996 | |
| While driving at speed of 55mph, the engine light came on and the vehicle decreased its speed down to 10mph, then increased its speed back to 55mph. cause unknown. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL - GAS RECIRCULATION VALVE (EGR VALVE) | |||
| 1 | |||
| Egr valve failed.*et | |||
| 1 | |||
| Erg valve and several other parts have failed after failure of the junction box.*et | |||